The present invention relates generally to electronic solid state and integrated circuit devices. More specifically, the present invention relates to apparatuses for dissipating heat generated by such devices.
In the electronics and computer industries, it has been well known to employ various types of electronic device packages and integrated circuit chips, such as the PENTIUM central processing unit chip (CPU) manufactured by Intel Corporation and RAM (random access memory) chips. These integrated circuit chips have a pin grid array (PGA) package and are typically installed into a socket which is soldered to a computer circuit board. These integrated circuit devices, particularly the CPU microprocessor chips, generate a great deal of heat during operation which must be removed to prevent adverse effects on operation of the system into which the device is installed. For example, a PENTIUM microprocessor, containing millions of transistors, is highly susceptible to overheating which could destroy the microprocessor device itself or other components proximal to the microprocessor.
In addition to the PENTIUM microprocessor discussed above, there are many other types of semiconductor device packages which are commonly used in computer equipment, for example. Recently, various types of surface mount packages, such as BGA (ball grid array) and LGA (land grid array) type semiconductor packages have become increasingly popular as the semiconductor package of choice for computers. For example, many microprocessors manufactured by the Motorola Corporation, for use in Apple Corporation computers, employ BGA-type packages.
As stated above, if heat is not properly dissipated from the semiconductor device, it will eventually fail. Many heat dissipation solutions are available in the prior art that are suitable for cooling a single semiconductor device. For example, various spring-biased clamps, carrying a heat sink, are available for heat dissipation. Further, a heat sink assembly is simply affixed directly to the circuit board carrying the semiconductor device to be cooled. However, these prior art cooling solutions are inadequate to accommodate an array of semiconductor devices because they are typically cumbersome and require large amounts of circuit board real estate around the semiconductor device. This is particularly disadvantageous in applications where space is at a premium, such as in a laptop computer.
Further attempts have been made to cool multiple devices in a single assembly. These devices typically provide for a single heat sink block that is dimensioned large enough to cover the entire array of devices to be cooled. However, these devices also cover the voids between the devices to be cooled resulting in inefficiency of the heat dissipating member. Further, the heat dissipating member cannot be customized to provided different levels of heat dissipation to different devices within the array.
In view of the foregoing, there is a demand for a heat sink assembly that may accommodate multiple semiconductor devices in a single assembly. There is a demand for a heat sink assembly that is compact and less expensive that other devices while providing superior heat dissipation.